Monday, February 19, 2018

Thrift Shop Book Covers: "Death out of Focus"

Death out of Focus, by Bill Gault, is a standalone mystery novel published as a hardcover by Random House in 1959. The edition that caught my eye is the Dell paperback published in 1960. It’s everything a vintage 1950s crime cover should be—alluring and beautiful with an encroaching menace, seen here as the darkening background and the monster-like stage lights. The artist: Robert McGinnis.


The first sentence:

He took the new script out to the sundeck and read it there.
Bill Gault published much of his fiction with his full name, William Campbell Gault. Interestingly, the dedication for Death out of Focus reads:

For Richard Matheson whose idea it was
A dedication that makes me want to read this book more than I already did.

2 comments:

Earl Dumarest said...

Was it a good book?

Ben Boulden said...

I haven't read it yet, Earl, but it's on my list.